St.

Joan of Arc
JOE SCHURER
Timeline of St. Joan's life
St. Joan was born in 1412 in Domremy, France.
She was born to peasant farmers Jacques and Isabelle d' Arc.
During her childhood she learned about her faith from her mother.
In 1425, St. Joan begins to hear the voices of the Saints and of God.
In 1428, she obeys the voices and offers her military service to the King of France,
Charles VII, who turns her awaybelieving she was crazy.
In 1429, the French were almost certain that they would be defeated by the English
in the Hundred Years' War. Again Joan goes to the King of France to aid him.
Charles VII accepts her aid after putting her through numerous tests to determine
her faith.
She begins to lead a campaign in which France is able to finally resist the English
invasion.
During the defense ofCompigne,she was trapped when French forces raised a
drawbridge behind her in mistake. She was captured after the battle and taken to
England.
St. Joan's trial in England
The English hated Joan of Arc for giving the French something to rally
behind and because she had been one of the first French leaders to defeat
them in battle.
The English had resolved to kill her but their legal code said she must be
found guilty of some crime first.
The English then handed her over to the English church were she was tried
as a heretic and a witch.
After a long trial, she was eventually convicted of being a heretic and was to
be executed.
At the age of 19 in 1431 she was burned at the stake in Rouen before
10,000 people.
In 1456 after a retrial, King Charles VII declared her innocent and
designated her as a martyr.
The Maid of Orlans
It was widely believed that the French were verging on total collapse to
the English.
St. Joan of Arc was instrumental in changing the tide of war.
She won a sudden victory at Orlans where her forces captured a string
of heavy English fortifications.
This battle is what convinced many French officers of her divine guidance
and convinced them to give her more power and control of the French
Army.
One common story is when St. Joan predicted the timing of a cannon
blast from an English fort saving the life of John II ofAlenon who went on
to speak highly of her to King Charles VII.
What led to St. Joan's canonization
After her retrial, she was designated as a martyr and as such may people at the
time viewed her as a saint.
As time passed, the movement to make her officially a saint lost interest.
The interest in making her a saint was revived during WWI.
Many Allied soldiers carried images or prayers to St. Joan with them into battle.
Thesentiment was especially strong to the French, who at many times were nearly
overrun by German forces. The French believed that her actions had saved France
from foreign invaders and they prayed for her intercession to aid them again.
These soldiers revived an intertest in St. Joan of Arc and helped to begin the
canonizationprocess.
The miracles that occurred which allowed her to be canonizedwere three cases of
various forms of cancer being cured in three French women.
I believe she became a saint because she was someone who wasmartyred for her
faith in addition to her military achievements.
St. Joan's Contribution to the
World and Church
Heractions reversed the tide in theHundred Years' War between
England and France and saved the French from invading English
armies.
She contributed directly to the Church by standing up for her
faith and defending it at the cost of becoming a martyr.

By standing up for the poor and defenseless of the world and by

defending people who cannot protect themselves, we can be
more like St. Joan of Arc.
Connection to the Eucharist
St. Joan's life in many ways resembles the sacrifice Christ made in the
Eucharist.
In the Eucharist we remember how Jesus sacrificed himself to bring
salvation to mankind and to free us from the burden of sin. St. Joan
sacrificed her own life in an attempt to save the people of France and to
free them from English oppression.
Prayer to St. Joan of Arc
In the face of your enemies, in the face of harassment,
ridicule, and doubt, you held firm in your faith. Even in
your abandonment, alone and without friends, you held
firm in your faith. Even as you faced your own mortality,
you held firm in your faith. I pray that I may be as bold in
my beliefs as you, St. Joan. I ask that you ride alongside
me in my own battles. Help me be mindful that what is
worthwhile can be won when I persist. Help me hold firm
in my faith. Help me believe in my ability to act well and
wisely.
Amen.